Magic - Deck 5/6/7 Inside vs. Deck 1/2 Oceanview

[YawningDodo]

So plans change and I'm looking at actually using my placeholder to return to the Magic instead of letting it expire, this time with a friend who will be a first time cruiser. Since we're a bit late to the game re: booking January 2020, particularly since I want to do MDAS again, our choices are looking a little limited.

On my last cruise (which was my first cruise), I had an inside cabin on deck 6 aft. Deck 6 suited me very well because I almost never had to use the elevators, meaning I never had to wait for the elevators. Given choice of general area on the Magic, my instinct is to pick deck 6 mid or forward since that'd put us closer to the Quiet Cove and the lounges. Right now, it looks like we can pick from a number of inside cabins on deck 5, 6, or 7 and have our choice of aft, mid, and forward.

I can afford to upgrade to an oceanview this time around (verandah would be more than I'd like to spend), but the only oceanview staterooms available are on decks 1 and 2. I've never been down there except to debark the ship in port, and it seems like it would be a pain to have to go all the way up from so low of a deck to get anywhere. Is it as bad as I'm thinking? Is having a porthole worth it? I didn't spend tons of time in my stateroom as a solo traveler and I imagine we still won't while traveling together, but I did find myself stopping by several times each day to pick stuff up, drop stuff off, change in and out of swimwear, etc., etc.

 

[DCLPrincess]

I love deck 6 on the magic/wonder. It's an easy walk up or down. I would choose an inside room there over an ocean view on deck 1 or 2. I've never stayed lower than deck 5 but it's a personal choice.

 

[Dug720]

I personally love Deck 2 ocean view and would jump at that over an inside any day.

 

[Karin1984]

I've only made one cruise, which was an ocean view on deck 2 on the Magic. I didn't see any issues with being on a lower deck, plenty of stairs and elevators. I would choose it again in a heartbeat. Having natural light coming in is more important to me than save a few minutes to take the stairs or wait for an elevator.

 

[Geomom]

DD19 and I are slightly claustrophobic--just having a window to see outside helps a great deal! We also love the natural light and just looking outside when we wake up. We've only stayed in a deck 2 oceanview so far, once on the Wonder in 2116 and once on the Magic in 2108. (Category 9C, at or slightly forward of the Aft elevators.) We love that area! Quick walk up 1-2 decks for restaurants, theater, clubs, promenade, etc. We did take the elevator up to 9, but would take stairs down often...partly depended on how much food/drink we were bringing back to the room for our kids. The Magic/Wonder are small enough that it doesn't take that long to get from place to place.

Deck 1 has the 2 small portholes. Deck 2 has 1 large porthole. Category 9B portholes are a little bigger than the 9C ones.

Here's a pic of our 9C porthole in Alaska, with me for scale:

 

[dcassetta]

So plans change and I'm looking at actually using my placeholder to return to the Magic instead of letting it expire, this time with a friend who will be a first time cruiser. Since we're a bit late to the game re: booking January 2020, particularly since I want to do MDAS again, our choices are looking a little limited.

On my last cruise (which was my first cruise), I had an inside cabin on deck 6 aft. Deck 6 suited me very well because I almost never had to use the elevators, meaning I never had to wait for the elevators. Given choice of general area on the Magic, my instinct is to pick deck 6 mid or forward since that'd put us closer to the Quiet Cove and the lounges. Right now, it looks like we can pick from a number of inside cabins on deck 5, 6, or 7 and have our choice of aft, mid, and forward.

I can afford to upgrade to an oceanview this time around (verandah would be more than I'd like to spend), but the only oceanview staterooms available are on decks 1 and 2. I've never been down there except to debark the ship in port, and it seems like it would be a pain to have to go all the way up from so low of a deck to get anywhere. Is it as bad as I'm thinking? Is having a porthole worth it? I didn't spend tons of time in my stateroom as a solo traveler and I imagine we still won't while traveling together, but I did find myself stopping by several times each day to pick stuff up, drop stuff off, change in and out of swimwear, etc., etc.

I really enjoy the deck 2 oceanview rooms. I don't care for the ones on deck 1 because of the small porthole Windows. With an ocean view, it's very easy to take a quick glance outside see what the weather is like to help you know how to dress. I also like watching the ocean go by, and I've seen dolphins out of my window on more than one occasion. The nice thing about being on the lower deck, is if you want to use the elevator it's often easier to get than going from midship. Really the only thing that's a long distance from that deck is the pool deck. The restaurants, theater, club area, and guest services are all just a flight or two up. Coming back from Port visits is very easy, because you get on board, up one flight of stairs and there you are.

 

[braysmommy]

Another vote for deck 2! Besides our Panama Canal cruise we always select mid-ship deck 2 and love it. We typically take the stairs so built in exercise

 

[ironz]

We just did the Panama Canal with an oceanview cabin on Deck 2 forward. Yes, it is almost as far from Cabanas as you can get, so that was one disadvantage. That said, it was a great cabin! We liked having a view close to the water level. Our previous cruise on the Magic we were in an inside cabin and I came to the conclusion that I need to see outside. Not claustrophobic, just want to know if it's day or night, or sunny or cloudy.
Since we try to not use the elevators too much, my trick if I needed to get to the upper decks (such as Cabanas) was to walk the forward stairs from deck 2 to deck 5, cross the length of the ship, then do the other 4 flights of stairs at the aft end. Much easier than walking 7 flights at one time.

 

[KayKayJS]

Oh I love the 9C's on deck 2 (especially AFT for easy access to Cabanas). My preference is to be either Deck 2 or 7 or higher.

The thing about deck 2 is the elevator is usually empty because everyone has already gotten off by then.

We actually have an inside booked for May on deck 2 forward. I'd like to move AFT but there's nothing available on deck 2 and 5 doesn't interest me, so we'll stay. I think I will enjoy taking the elevator up to the pool deck and then walking to cabanas in the fresh air each morning.

 

[pixiedustedme]

Another vote for an oceanview stateroom over an inside.

 

[lklgoodman]

Another vote for OV on deck 2, we always try to get mid-ship. I haven't stayed in an inside before, so don't know how they are. We don't spend a lot of time in the cabin, but I love being able to look out the window when we are getting ready in the morning.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

So I've never stayed on deck two, but personally I like to be centrally located as well. Our next cruise we're on deck 7 again (Wonder) and I really like that location. I like being able to walk up or down just a couple flights of stairs to go wherever we want. Years and years ago I cruised with a friend in an oceanview room, and for us it was pointless. It was on Carnival, so the window was smaller. But we were never in our room, we were always out on deck. And we couldn't see very much out of it. Most of the time that we were in the room it was night, so it was just black. And unlike the picture above, in the caribbean you'll mostly just see the blue of the ocean. Which is pretty, but when you only see it for a few minutes when you're getting ready, it's not really a big selling point.

I'd book the inside room and then if you really want the oceanview, keep checking to see if anyone cancels on decks 5-7.

 

[carrielouhoo]

We are huge fans of Deck 2. On our first cruise, we were able to get two rooms on Deck 2 mid-ship for around the same price as we could get one family verandah room (we are a family of 5), and I wondered/doubted/questioned whether or not I made the right choice going to Deck 2. However, we absolutely loved the location and now exclusively book rooms on Deck 2. As others have said, it's really only "far" from the pool deck/Cabanas, but elevators are easier to catch than they are on the upper floors and the atrium/theater/restaurants, etc. are a quick walk up a few flights. When coming back down stairs from the pool deck/Cabanas, we often use the stairs and don't even try for an elevator since the trek down is much easier than up, and we're often planning a "detour" to another part of the ship before ending up at our room anyway. Good luck making your choice!

 

[darnheather]

I absolutely love the inside cabins. I've never felt the need for an ocean view and deck 6 has always been my home on the Magic and Wonder.

 

[gilsan]

Look to see if there are any secret porthole rooms. They are on deck 5 and 6 and are priced around the same as an oceanview on deck 2. If there are not any available now they may open up at PIF. They are a category 10A, I have room tours of 5520 and 6006 in my signature if you want to see what they are like.

 

[YawningDodo]

Lots of votes for deck 2! I do wonder a little if we'll only be in there to sleep and change clothes, if it'll be worth the extra money to have a window. I wasn't bothered by the inside room on my last cruise except on the last night, when there was a lot of motion and I had to get dressed and leave my room at 4 AM to find a porthole where I could see outside before I could get myself to settle back down and go to sleep again. That sticks in my mind a little...under normal conditions I was fine, but that much motion in a room I couldn't see out of was unnerving.

I think the good news is that both are good options; I'm not worried about having a bunch of regret over whatever we choose. I'll have to put it to my housemate, too; I suspect she'll lean toward the oceanview but I wanted to get a feel for whether it was as inconvenient as I was worried it might be; I want to set realistic expectations as we're discussing our options.

I'll have to check for secret portholes, too! I don't think I'd want one where workers are frequently outside your porthole, though; I think I'd rather have an inside than be worrying about privacy all the time tbh.

I know forward rooms feel more motion; is it any less noticeable on the lower decks? I'd like to be forward for convenience to the theater, lounges, and the Quiet Cove (or at least the elevators to the Quiet Cove, if we're on 2). There was always more I wanted to do forward than aft so I did a lot of trekking back and forth down the length of the ship when I was aft.

 

[cadien]

Our first cruise was an oceanview on Deck 2 on the Magic. Our second was an oceanview on Deck 5 of the Wonder. We moved to a higher deck because it was an awful lot of going up and down stairs from Deck 2. And we basically refuse to use the elevators. Going to dinner was handy but the pool deck was a hike. That said, if my choice was location vs window, I'd go with the inside on a higher deck.

 

[anricat]

I've stayed on deck 6 and 2 and I definitely prefer deck 2. It's so quick and easy just to hop up to everything going on in the atrium or the restaurants on deck 3. It's also easy to get to the adult areas. Our first choice, for sure! If I need to get to deck 9, I'm using the elevators anyway so really, we prefer being closer to the restaurants, atrium and deck 1 for disembarking.

 

[YawningDodo]

Well! She surprised me by immediately wondering if we'll spend enough time in our stateroom to care about having a porthole!

We're a little way out from being able to actually book, but I'm glad I brought it up for thought and discussion since we're still very undecided. Something I'd dropped from my considerations here but brought back into the conversation with my housemate: standard inside vs. deluxe inside. We've traveled together enough to know that we can manage sharing a single bathroom just fine, but two separate sink areas would be awfully convenient all the same. IIRC though the affordable deluxe insides I was seeing on the most likely itinerary are also down on deck 2 (got to run the search again when we get more serious/prepared). I told her "We can have a convenient location, OR a porthole, OR a split bathroom."

Jury's still out on which of the three is most important, but I think the split bath may actually be in the lead??

 

[Geomom]

Well! She surprised me by immediately wondering if we'll spend enough time in our stateroom to care about having a porthole!

We're a little way out from being able to actually book, but I'm glad I brought it up for thought and discussion since we're still very undecided. Something I'd dropped from my considerations here but brought back into the conversation with my housemate: standard inside vs. deluxe inside. We've traveled together enough to know that we can manage sharing a single bathroom just fine, but two separate sink areas would be awfully convenient all the same. IIRC though the affordable deluxe insides I was seeing on the most likely itinerary are also down on deck 2 (got to run the search again when we get more serious/prepared). I told her "We can have a convenient location, OR a porthole, OR a split bathroom."

Jury's still out on which of the three is most important, but I think the split bath may actually be in the lead??

Porthole rooms have the split bath...I think that all rooms except the standard inside have a split bath.